« In 2021, we are not yet back to the pre-crisis level Health, summarized Wednesday Emmanuelle Cortot-Boucher, Director General of the Biomedicine Agency, at a press conference on Wednesday. This agency, linked to the Ministry of Health, oversees the world of organ transplants in France. His record of last year is mixed. A total of 5,273 transplants have taken place, the vast majority of which are kidney transplants, which represent two-thirds of operations.
Admittedly, it is a big better – approximately + 20% – compared to 2020. But the comparison is skewed by the fact that that year had been very disturbed by the triggering of the Covid crisis. Kidney and pancreatic transplants, in particular, had been suspended during the first confinement. Compared to 2019, the last year before the crisis, the drop in transplants remains significant, around 10%. At the same time, the number of applicants continues to increase with more than 20,000 people waiting.
« This year 2021 will have been the year in which we felt the effects of the long-term health crisis », Underlined the director of the Agency.
The Covid, but not only
Covid affects the hospital system and, therefore, the level of transplants. During epidemic waves, such as the one currently linked to Omicron, operating theaters are quickly saturated and can less often be used for transplantation. The Covid also poses other problems, once the transplant has been carried out. The immune system of recipients is affected by anti-rejection drugs, making them more susceptible to the disease. Mortality has therefore increased in new transplant recipients since the start of the crisis.
But the Covid is not the only explanation for the slowdown in transplants. Their pace was already declining before, following a peak in 2017. The causes are multiple and it is complicated to answer, because it is sometimes the consequence of good news. For example, ” strokes are better and better managed and road fatalities are decreasing, which we can only rejoice », Noted Ms. Cortot-Boucher.
Organs are largely harvested from people who have died in these circumstances.
Lots of refusals
Transplants also face a high refusal rate. It represents a third of the situations where a transplant might take place. A relative of the deceased can indeed oppose organ donation if he thinks that the person would not have wished it. It is therefore important tell those around you that you are in favor of having an organ removed in the event of death in order ” that people who are likely to donate can actually do so “, Warned Ms. Cortot-Boucher.
The subject is crucial because organ transplants can profoundly change the lives of patients who often wait many years to benefit from it.
